Photo: David Shankbone
Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Billy Joel is to be honoured with the prestigious Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. He will receive the prize in Washington, D.C. in November.
Joel follows in the footsteps of six previous recipients: Carole King, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Sir Paul McCartney and songwriting partners Burt Bacharach and the late Hal David.
The Gershwin Prize honours individuals for lifetime achievement in popular music. It is named after legendary songwriting brothers George and Ira Gershwin.
Librarian of Congress James H. Billlington said: “Billy Joel is a storyteller of the highest order. There is an intimacy to his songwriting that bridges the gap between the listener and the worlds he shares through music.”
Billy Joel said: “The great composer, George Gershwin, has been a personal inspiration to me throughout my career. And the Library’s decision to include me among those songwriters who have been past recipients is a milestone for me.”
Six-time Grammy Award winner Billy Joel was presented with a Grammy Legend Award in 1990. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.
During his 50-year career, he has had 33 Top 40 hits and has sold more than 150 million records worldwide. His Grammy awards include Song of the Year and Album of the Year in 1978 for ‘Just the Way You Are’.
Since releasing his first hit song, ‘Piano Man’, in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States.
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Songwriters Hall of Fame chairman Jimmy Webb has announced that Elton John and Bernie Taupin will be the 2013 recipients of the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award at this year’s awards ceremony in New York on June 13.
John and Taupin have been one of the most prolific and successful songwriting partnerships of all time. Their award-winning relationship has spanned more than four decades and they have collaborated on more than 30 albums since they first met in 1967.
“Some catalogues are more significant than others not only because of their pertinence to the times in which they were written, but because their sheer mass is overpowering,” said Jimmy Webb. “It’s just not that easy to write 40 top 10 records. It’s kind of like swimming the English Channel with your hands tied behind your back.”
He added: “Elton’s readily identifiable melodic piano style has proven to be a perfect accompaniment to Bernie’s razor sharp lyrics about relationships and living on the edge of life both in good and bad times.”
The Johnny Mercer Award is the highest honour bestowed by the Songwriters Hall of Fame. It is exclusively reserved for songwriters or songwriting teams who have already been inducted in a prior year, and whose body of work is of such high quality and impact that it upholds the gold standard set by the legendary Johnny Mercer.
Past Johnny Mercer Award recipients have included songwriting giants: Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Phil Collins, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Paul Anka, Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Billy Joel, Jimmy Webb, Hal David, Burt Bacharach, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Paul Simon, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Stephen Sondheim, Cy Coleman, Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne.
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The Songwriting Hall of Fame has announced the inductees for its 44th annual awards this year.
They include English songwriter Tony Hatch, Mick Jones and Lou Gramm of Foreigner, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith (pictured), Holly Knight, and JD Souther. They will join previous legendary recipients such as Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Sam Cooke and John Lennon.
“Each of our 2013 inductees has been responsible for captivating the world with their creativity for decades, serving up a rich variety of songs for our global soundtrack,” said Hall of Fame chairman Jimmy Webb. “We are looking forward to celebrating their contributions at our Annual Awards Gala.”
The ceremony will be held on June 13 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Manhattan.
Steven Tyler and Joe Perry co-founded Aerosmith in 1970 with guitarist Ray Tabano, bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer. In addition to the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction, Tyler and Perry were recently announced as the next recipients of ASCAP’s Founders Award.
Tony Hatch will be honored for his 53-year career during which he has written many memorable hits, including ‘Downtown’ and ‘Don’t Sleep In The Subway’ for Petula Clark and ‘Sugar and Spice’ for The Searchers.
Foreigner co-founders Mick Jones and Lou Gramm are being recognized for classic songs such as ‘Feels Like the First Time’ and ‘I Want to Know What Love Is’.
Holly Knight’s 36-year career has seen her work with artists like Chaka Khan, Pat Benatar, Aerosmith, KISS, Tina Turner and Cheap Trick.
JD Souther had ten of his songs recorded by Linda Ronstadt, as well as co-writing several Eagles songs, including ‘Victim of Love’.
In addition to the annual inductees, the Songwriters Hall of Fame will be announcing a number of special awards, including the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award, the Towering Song Award, the Towering Performance Award and the Hal David Starlight Award.
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SONGWRITING: THE HIT FORMULA 